The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for producing a non-woven tufted textile fabric in which a web comprising at least one layer of fibers or small bands is pierced through by a plurality of felt needles and in subsequently thereto by needles having prongs or hooks at the ends thereof to form a nap of loops or tufts on opposite faces of the web.
It is known to manufacture a non-woven textile fabric in which a loop-like of tuft-like structure is produced on one of the two faces of the web. In order to produce such a textile fabric the non-woven web is pierced in a known needle machine with felt needles whereby hooks provided on the shaft of the felt needles will grip fibers of the felt to reorientate the fibers from a substantially horizontal to a substantially vertical position which will result in a compacting of the web with increasing strength thereof. The piercing of the web is repeated several times (60-180 punctures per centimeter square) and such piercing is alternately produced from opposite faces of the web. Thereby small fiber tufts produced at the outlet ends of the punctures are, during transport of the web through the machine, to a major part again bent back into the web. Subsequently thereto the web is subjected to a structuring on a machine as for instance disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,729,785 in which the web is punctured or pierced by loop or fork needles which on their free ends have a fork-shaped configuration or which closely adjacent to their pointed ends have hooks for gripping and transporting a desired amount of fibers during each puncturing. Such needles will grip considerably greater fiber tufts or loops as is possible with felt needles and the needles of the last-mentioned machine will push these tufts or loops out from the web so that each needle will form a fiber tuft of a length up to 20 millimeters. In order to prevent that the loops or tufts formed by the needles are again destroyed during forming of the following loops or tufts, there are arranged in each needle holder plate of the machine a plurality of needles spaced in the direction of the transporting of the web through distances corresponding to the advancing steps of the web so that several needles will penetrate one after the other in each of the loops or tufts. The forces imparted to the needles during this operation add up to considerable forces in the order of several tons. These forces are taken up by a base plate on which the web abuts. The web is held during withdrawing of the needles by a stripper plate provided with openings for the puncturing needles. To prevent damage or destruction of the tufts produced, the base plate is provided with slots extending in the direction in which the web is transported, in which the tufts during the transport of the web are moved freely dependent from the web. Thus on one side of the web a velour or rib-shaped surface structure is produced. The opposite face of the web is mechanically compacted and is usually additionally chemically treated, for instance by applying a layer of latex thereon, whereby the web is strengthened while this opposite face thereof looses its textile character. Such products may be used as lining material, floor covering or for similar purposes in which only the structured surface is visible. Attempts to provide a textile fabric of the aformentioned kind in which also the second face of the web is provided with tufts, have failed due to the fact that during puncturing the web from the already structured face, in order to transport fiber material also beyond the opposite face, the first produced fiber tufts or loops have been again destroyed. For purposes in which it is necessary to provide opposite faces with the mentioned textile structure, for instance for blankets, two webs, each provided only on one side with a structured nap, have been connected at the nonstructured sides to each other. Such a method is not only relatively expensive, but it results also in relatively stiff products which have found only limited use in the trade.